Showing results by author "Hollywood 360" in All Categories

Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told a story of ghosts, murderers, and lunatics. Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC radio's Blue Network in January 1941 and featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history, as an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned, and a creaking door slowly began to open.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men andwomen who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York - based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher.

This collection contains 12 amazing Sherlock Holmes adventures, starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as "an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend", Boston Blackie's exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television.

Created by Blake Edwards of The Pink Panther fame, Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC radio in 1949 starring film actor and singer Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on radio.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest Christmas radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio!

"Countdown for blastoff...X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one.... Fire! From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future - adventures in which you'll live in a million could-be years on a thousand may-be worlds." Thus began each episode of X Minus One, a half-hour science fiction radio series that was broadcast from 1955 until 1958.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as "an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend", Boston Blackie's exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television.

Damon Runyon was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of New York City's Broadway that grew out of the Prohibition era. He created a little world of characters that live on even today in such classic movies as Little Miss Marker and Guys and Dolls, both based on Runyon's stories. Actor Alan Ladd's Mayfair Productions brought Runyon's short stories to radio in the early 1950s.

The detective series Let George Do It came to radio in 1946. It starred Bob Bailey as George Valentine, ex-GI and detective for hire. Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: "Personal notice: Danger's my stock-in-trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details."

Dimension X was one of radio's first adult science fiction series, and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Clifford D. Simak, and William Tenn. Scriptwriters Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original scripts, adapted the original stories. At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us "adventures in time and space, told in future tense" and you knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence.

Set in Los Angeles and starring Jack Webb as the stoic Sergeant Joe Friday, Dragnet is perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama of all time, having made extensive runs on both radio and television. Webb, also the producer of the show, took the series to new highs, insisting on realism in every facet of the program. The dialogue was clipped and sparse, taking its cue from hard-boiled crime fiction à la Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

Candy Matson was a response to all the hard-boiled detectives on the radio, like Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and Pat Novak, and all those other detectives who were beaten up on a regular basis. Candy, played by Natalie Park, was hard-boiled in her own way. She never compromised her femininity, but she did know how to use a gun and didn't hesitate to use it when it was necessary. She didn't take any guff from the guys - the good guys or the bad guys. With a snappy comeback, she could take anybody's head off.

Radio Westerns were strictly for kids until 1952, when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. The stories were grim, the deaths brutal, and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke, and they made it the number one Western on the radio. It soon made a successful transition to television, becoming the longest-running dramatic series in television history.

Our Miss Brooks was a highly popular radio sitcom that was eventually adapted for both television and film. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who specialized in playing the wisecracking friend. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for the 1945 film Mildred Pierce. Since her skill with the wicked one-liner was beginning to lead to typecasting, Arden signed on for the lead in radio's Our Miss Brooks to find a new image.

During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the fifteen-minute, Monday-through-Friday adventures of Amos and Andy. Department stores open in the evening piped in the broadcasts so shoppers wouldn't miss an episode; movie theaters scheduled their features to end just prior to the start of Amos 'n' Andy so they too could pipe it in. The characters were members of the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge, of which George Stevens was "the Kingfish."

Among several newspaper-based dramas during radio's golden age, Night Beat was a cut above the others. It was the story of Randy Stone, a hard-nosed Chicago Star newsman, and his quest for the human-interest story behind the headlines. Frank Lovejoy starred as Randy Stone, who came to vivid life thanks to expert scripts by Russell Hughes, Larry Marcus, E. Jack Neuman, and John Michael Hayes. Lovejoy's distinctive voice and approach to the role, combined with top performances by veteran radio actors, gave Night Beat a noir style that listeners loved.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs, airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart's character Rick Blaine from the classic movie Casablanca, Rocky Jordan relocated to Cairo after being ousted from St. Louis by his enemies. Now living in North Africa, Rocky Jordan owns and operates a gin joint, the Café Tambourine, and finds himself involved in an assortment of mystery and intrigue endeavors while unwillingly moonlighting as a crime fighter.